Controlling device for motor-vehicle driving-trains.



No. 682,8'0l. Patanted sept. I7, |901.

T.. B. JEFFERY.- conmomm; navlce ron moron vamcua nmvma mms.

(Application led Oct. 27, 1900.) (No Model.)

i my Ziggy,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS B. JEFFERY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CONTROLLlNG DEVICE FOR MOTOR-VEHICLE DRIVING-TRAINS.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 682,801, dated September 17, 1901.

Application filed October 27, 1900. Serial No. 34,606. (No model To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS B. JEFFERY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Controlling Devices for Motor-Vehicle Driving-Trains, of which the following is a specication, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming a part thereof.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a mechanism for operating the clutches by which the motor-driven element in a motorvehicle is engaged at will with either a slow or a fastgearing train.

It consists of devices in which a single lever operated by the driver may in one movement in continuous direction first effect en'- gagement of the slower train and afterward' elect disengagementof the same and engage-Y ment of the fastertrain, so that without giving attention to the several movements separately the driver may impart slow-driving movement to the vehicle and bring it into operation at the higher speed after it has I have shown my invention adapted andapplied to the drivfully attained the lower.

ing mechanism of a motor-vehicle which is the joint invention of Robert W. Thompson and myself and is shown and claimed in our joint application, Serial No. 34,544, iiled October 27, 1900. This driving mechanism it will be necessary to explain in part in order j to enable one to understand the specific devices which constitute my present invention,

and said driving mechanism is therefore partly illustrated.

The drawing is a plan view of the devices constituting my present invention shown in connection with a horizontal section of the driving mechanism which is controlled thereby, the section being at the axis of the traction-Wheel-driving shaft.

The traction-wheel-driving shaft is shown at d. B is a sleeve loose thereon, which is driven by the motor, power being communicated by a chain operating upon the sprocketwheel B', which is fast on said sleeve.

A is a sleeve-shaft of the Voutside gear of the compensating-gear structure, which comprises the gear C, rigid with the shaft a, the.

gear C', opposed to it, intermediate pinions C2 C2, and the pinion-carrying element C3, which is loose on the shaft c. The hub C39 of the pinioncarrying element ,C3 is conically hollowed, adapted to receive the cone D, which is feathered on the sleeve Bfsaid two elements-the hub CS0 and the cone D-constituting a clutch, by means of which the compensating-gear device is engaged with the motor-actuated sleeve. `On the shaft a at thejop'- posite end of the sleeve B there is loosely' jouraled a gear F, having a conically-hollowed hub F, adapted to aiford a seat for a cone E similar to the cone D, which is feathered on the opposite end of the sleeve B, said two elements-the hub F of the gear F and the cone E-constituting a clutch for the engagement of the motor-driven sleeve B with the gear F.

with and driving the pinion-carrying element Cs of the compensating gear, said element having a peripheral gear-rim C4 for this purpose. It will be understood that when the cone D is engaged with the conical hub C30 the shaft of, is ldirectly rotated at the speed which the sleeve B receives from the motor and that when the cone E is engaged by the hub F of the gear F the compensating-gear 7element C8 receives rotary motion at reduced speed, which is transmitted to the tractionwheel-driving shaft throughthe compensating-gear train precisely as when said element is engaged and driven directly by the engagement of the cone D. Y

O and O are levers suitably fulcrumed on the running-gear frame and forked to engage the grooves d and e in the cones D and E to shift said cones on the motor-driven sleeve into and out of engagement with the other element of the clutches of which they respectively form a part.

My invention consists in the means for operating the levers O and O', respectively, to cause them to engage their respective clutches successively by means of one continuous movement of the operating-lever. For this purpose I employ' a lever M, suitablyfulcrumed on the running-gear frame, For the purpose of operating the lever M,l haveshown a link P, connected at one end to said lever andat the other end connected to one arm of IOO a bell-crank lever' P', to the other arm of which a link P2 is connected, which may eX- tend to any suitable point for manipulation by the driver. From the lever M links N and N' extend to the levers O and O', respectively, the pivotal connections being so located and the length of the links being such that at a certain position both clutches are disengaged, as seen in the drawing, and both links deflected in the same direction from lines drawn from their pivotal connections with the levers O and O', respectively, intersecting the axis of the lever M, the deflection of the link, however, which operates the lever O and effects engagement of the clutch with the slower train being greater than the deflection of the link which operates the lever to give the faster speed. The relation of the parts is also, as would appear from au examination of the drawing, such that the slow-speed clutch is engaged by movement of the lever M which thrusts the pivotal connection of the link N away from the fulcrum of the lever M, while the engagement of the other clutch is caused by a movement of said lever M which draws the pivotal connection of the link N and lever O' toward the fulcrum. Hence it will be seen that the movement of said leverM from the position at which it is shown in the drawing in a direction tending to bring the links N and N into lines successively intersecting the axis of the lever M will during the first part of said movement slightly withdraw the cone D of the higher-speed clutch, its maximum withdrawal being reached when the link N is in line intersecting the axisof said lever M, and then will return it to its initial position, both said movements being caused while the same movement of the lever M is continuously moving the clutch-cone E into engagement with the hub F', such engagement being effected completely by the time the' link N is in line intersecting the axis of the lever M, the position of the pivots being such that this engagement occurs subst-antially at the time the cone D, having been re- 4 hicle two dierently speeded trains, and l clutches for engaging them respectively, de-

tracted, has been carried back to' initial position shown in the drawing. The furthe-r continued movement of the lever M in the same direction, it will be seen, first carries the cone E out of engagement with the hub F', while carrying the cone D toward its posid tion of engagement, and finally into' engagement.. Thus one continuous movement of the lever M first engages the slow-speed clutch and then after disengaging the sam'e engages the fast-speed clutch.

'Fo facilitate conciseness of reference to the structure and action above described, theposition at .which either of the links N or N' is in a line intersect-ing the axis of the operating-lever may be termed the conjunction of the lever with the links. Employing this phrase, the foregoing structure may be summarized by the statement that the location and proportion of the several parts is such that the conjunction of the lever M with the link which operates the clutch for driving the slower train occurs when the members of that clutch are in complete engagement and the conjunction of the lever with the other link occurs when the members of the other clutch are most widely separated and that said conjunctions are not coincidentthat is, do not occur at the same position of the lever. The non-coincidence of these conjunctions is not essential, but has merely the effect, which is desirable, of increasing the interval between the engagement between the slowspeed clutch and the subsequent engagement of the fastspeed clutch at starting and to diminishing the interval between the disengagement of the fast-speed clutch andthe subsequent engagement of the slow-speed clutch (which is followed by the disengagement of the latter) at stopping. The throw of the lever may be lnade so quickly that, if desired, the fastspeed clutch may be engaged without any sensible interval after engagement of the slowspeed clutch, so that the higher speed will be obtained as quickly as if there were no provision for the slower speed; but it is designed that the operator shall move the lever with some deliberation, so that there shall be time for the engagement of the slow-speed clutch to initiate the movement of the slow-speed train, and that the lever may be halted at that position for a suflcient time for the slow speed to be fairly gained before the movement of the lever continues to effect engagement of the fast train.

I do not limit myself to such location of the lever M as will require separate pivotal connections for the links N and N', nor to such location of the several connections as will make said lever of the nature of abell-crank lever, as it appears in the drawing, because any mechanic will readily obtain the same result by varying the form of the lever and correspondingly varying its position relative to the several connections.

I claim-- 1. In a driving mechanism for a motorvcV vices for shifting clutch members of such clutches respectively; an operating-lever,and

f links connecting it to the clutch-shifting devices respectively, the pivotal connections of the operating-lever' being arranged to cause it during its movement in one continuous direc# l tion about its axis to first effect engagement i of the clutch which operates the slower, and afterward that which operates the speed'ier train.

2. In a motor-vehicle driving mechanism, two differently-speeded trains, one of which includes the other, and clutches for engaging them respectively, devices for shifting the clutch members of such clutches respectively, an operating-lever, and links connecting it to the clutch-shifting devices respectively, the pivotal connections of the operating-lever being arranged to cause it during its move- IOO asesor 'ment in one continuous direction about its axis to first effect engagement of the clutch which operates the slower, and afterward that which operates the speedier train.

3. In a driving mechanism for a motor-ve# hicle two dierently speeded trains and clutches for engaging the trains respectively, devices for shifting the clutch members of suchclntches; an operating-lever, and links connecting the lever to such shifting devices respectively, the conjunction of the lever with the links which operate the clutch for driving the slower train occurring at the full engagement of the members of such clutch, and the conjunction of the lever with the other link occurring at the maximum separation of the members of the other clutch.

et. In a driving mechanism for a motor-vehicle, two differently speeded trains, and clutches for engaging the trains respectively; devices for shifting the clutch members of such clutches; an operating-lever, and links connecting it to such shifting devices respectively; the conjunction of the lever with the links which operate the clutch for driving the slower train occurring at the full engagement of the members of said clutch, and the conjunction of the lever with the other link occurring at the maximum' separation of the members of the other clutch, said conjunctions being not coincident;

5. In a driving mechanism for a motor-vehicle two dierently speeded trains and clutches for engaging them respectively, the levers O and O' for shifting clutch members 35 of such clutches respectively; an operatinglever, M, and links, N and N', respectively, connecting it to the clutch-shiftinglevers; the pivotal connections of the links N and N' to the lever M being in dierent planes radial 4o to the axis of said lever, and the pivots of the links to the levers O and O' respectively being so disposed with respect to the pivotal connections to the leverM and with respect to the clutches at their disengaged positions, that movement of the lever M from the posiL tion at which the clutches are both disengaged in direction to bring Ithe links respectively into lines intersecting the axis of the lever M, engages first the slow-train clutch 5d and afterward, while moving in the direction to disengage said clutch, engages 'the fast# train clutch.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of two witnesses, at 455v Chicago,lllinois, this 22d day of October, A.D. 1900.

THos. BQJEFFERY.

In presence off CHAs. S. BURTON, EDGAR L. CONANT'. 

